The afternoon sunlight filtered through Oselenka Academy’s tall arched windows, casting dappled shadows across the corridor.
Ellaria walked with a heavy heart, clutching several heavy books on magic theory.
The morning classes had ended, and she was supposed to go to Teacher Sefina’s office to assist with some clerical work as her assistant.
However, at the mere thought of going to Teacher Sefina’s office, Ellaria’s cheeks began to burn involuntarily.
She still vividly remembered that afternoon — the charged atmosphere in the teacher’s bedroom, the breath so close to her, and the impulse she had to almost touch the teacher’s lips…
Every detail was deeply branded into Ellaria’s mind, impossible to drive away.
Ellaria subconsciously slowed her pace, her heart full of struggle.
For the past few days, she had been like a startled little rabbit, carefully avoiding any direct contact with Teacher Sefina.
She would hurriedly avert her eyes when their gazes met and take long detours when they crossed paths in the corridor. This state of hiding was clearly not a long-term solution.
‘But… what should I do?’ Ellaria sighed silently, her emerald eyes filled with confusion.
‘Should I just keep dragging this out, pretending nothing ever happened, and let it fade into nothing?’
‘Maybe it’s a viable plan. If both sides pretend nothing happened, there won’t be any awkwardness.’ But as soon as that thought surfaced, it was suppressed by a trace of indignation in the depths of her heart.
Because she clearly remembered the moment she mistakenly thought the teacher needed her “help” — the sudden surge of feelings, a mixture of shame and thumping heartbeats…
Ellaria also remembered the feeling of her heart being struck when she saw the teacher wearing that pink dress, clumsily trying to act “cute.”
There were also those unspeakable fantasies in the dead of night, and the time before, when she had secretly taken the teacher’s discarded…
She had to admit one fact — after turning it over in her mind for the past few days and comparing it with descriptions in those romance novels she secretly read, her feelings for Teacher Sefina seemed to have truly crossed the boundaries between teacher and student.
Her face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple, and even the tips of her ears were stained crimson.
Was her feeling for Teacher Sefina love? This realization made Ellaria admit it to herself in a small, uncertain voice — ‘Should be, probably, maybe, perhaps, possibly… yes.’
However, the thought of expressing these feelings to the teacher overwhelmed her with immense bashfulness and fear.
What would the teacher think of her? Would she think she was a shameless student with impure thoughts? Would the fragile relationship between them as teacher and student completely break because of this?
Just as Ellaria was immersed in her own thoughts, her face turning various shades of red and white, she failed to notice her surroundings at all —
“Filth.”
A cold and mocking voice suddenly rang out beside her, like a poisoned dagger stabbing into her eardrums.
Ellaria stiffened, and her arms instinctively tightened around her books.
There was only one person in all of Oselenka who would call her by that word…
She turned her head stiffly, her heart sinking instantly.
Leaning against a pillar in the corridor was a young man wearing a luxurious student uniform.
He also possessed the golden hair and green eyes that symbolized the royal bloodline, but those eyes, so similar in color to hers, were now filled with undisguised contempt and arrogance.
The corners of his mouth curled into a mocking arc as he looked down at her, as if looking at disgusting trash.
He was Ellaria’s half-brother — Prince Eric.
Fear swept through Ellaria’s body like a cold tide.
She instinctively tried to lower her head to avoid that suffocating gaze, her slender fingers tightly gripping the edges of the books in her arms.
Those memories buried deep in her heart surged up again —
Her mother’s lowly status as a maid, her own unblessed birth, the silent disdain in the corners of the palace, and the relentless insults from her siblings in private…
Her mother had died of illness when Ellaria was very young, so no one in the palace cared for her.
The reason the Father Emperor was willing to take her in and let her grow up in the palace was likely because of a tiny shred of conscience.
The name “filth” was like an original sin she could never escape, following her like a shadow since childhood.
Even though the Father Emperor had strictly forbidden anyone from publicly discussing her background to maintain the royal image, the word never stayed far away among these so-called “family members,” especially in the shadows where no one was watching.
Even that high and mighty father, in certain moments of displeasure, had made her clearly feel the “stain” of her bloodline through his cold eyes and silent attitude.
Ellaria did not want to face it, nor did she dare to remember. A strong sense of inferiority made her want to flee the place immediately.
Thus, Ellaria turned abruptly, hugging the books tightly to her chest as if seeking a small, insignificant bit of protection.
She quickened her pace, trying to leave this suffocating space with small, hurried steps that were as fast as possible without being impolite.
However, Eric clearly had no intention of letting her off so easily.
In his eyes, this so-called “sister” was nothing more than a plaything in his boring noble life, someone he could use to amuse himself and assert his own superiority.
Since childhood, Ellaria’s submissiveness had long since become a habit. Today, she actually dared to ignore him and try to run away?
“Tch — “
Eric let out a disdainful snort. With one stride of his long legs, he easily caught up to Ellaria and grabbed her slender arm with force!
“Did I give you permission to leave, filth?”
Eric’s hand was like an iron clamp, pinching Ellaria so hard it hurt. His voice, lowered intentionally, was full of threats.
“It seems that after staying at the academy for a few days, you’ve forgotten your place. Who gave you the gall to ignore me?”
“Let — let go of me…” Ellaria struggled, her voice trembling with irrepressible fear. Her eyes reddened, but she still tried her best to maintain a final shred of composure.
She did not want to cause a scene in the corridor; that would only make things more embarrassing for her.
“Let go of you?” Eric sneered. He raised his other hand, making a move to “teach her a lesson” as he had done countless times when they were younger, to make her remember who was in control.
Seeing that large hand swinging down with the sound of rushing air, Ellaria closed her eyes in fear, her body shrinking slightly.
However, the expected pain did not arrive.
That hand stopped abruptly, only 1 inch away from her cheek, as if it had hit an invisible wall. It froze in mid-air, unable to move.
As if frozen in amber, it could not move even the slightest bit.
The arrogance and disdain on Eric’s face froze instantly, replaced by a trace of suspicion and confusion. He tried to apply force, only to find that his arm…